The One That Almost Got Away: Wooing Scout Harding
by FemShem
Summary: This is a sweet little, awkward-filled, humorous, romantic attempt the ineptitude of inexperienced love between one really cute dwarf and a slightly dense (emotionally unaware) Inquisitor. I'm keeping it cute and very teen rated for the moment. I'll be on hiatus from 11/1/2015-12/15/2015. Miss you guys. Be back soon.


The devilishly cute Scout Harding stood near the Inquisition pub. Anytime Scout Harding was in Skyhold the Inquisitor went out of her way to greet the enticing little dwarf. In truth, she had no idea why she was drawn to her. It wasn't completely carnal, which was the Inquisitor's norm; it wasn't solely intellectual either, or completely innocuously friendly.

It was something else.

No matter where the Inquisitor travelled Scout Harding had already braved it first. Walking dead, storms, deserts, whatever, if it creepth, it had creepth on her first. Initially, the Inquisitor hadn't even realized she'd developed something just short of a crush on her.

Certainly, the Inquisitor flirted with her, but the Inquisitor flirted with everyone. Scout Harding was the only one who took no notice of the flirting. Cassandra had given her, a "let's be friends" speech, which she was pretty certain that's all they had ever been or she would have remembered. She hoped becoming a rift mage hadn't sucked her memory out like it had her trainers.

Sera noticed the flirtation and always approved…slightly.

The Inquisitor was gathering a team when they were about to head out from camp when Sera popped up. Scout Harding had left a few days hence. The Inquisitor was always a little sad to see her go. She missed her humor.

"Like her, yeah?" Sera asked out of nowhere. Sera asked many things out of nowhere.

"I don't know what you mean." The Inquisitor replied without thinking. She was lost in thought over something else.

"As if." Sera waited. "Are you kidding? Do you really not pay attention to the people around you at all? I like you and all. You'd throw a pie at Coriphinus, but you really don't know what I'm talking about do you?"

"Sera," the Inquisitor sighed. "Are you talking?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You like her." Sera smiled.

"Like who?"

"You flirt with everyone, yeah. You're not interested in anyone though. I've been watching. I mean it's hard for me to get passed you being a creepy elf mage with all the creepy magic stuff, but I do love watching your ass, walking around and stuff." Sera gave the Inquisitor an ear to ear smile.

"Sera…I'm pretty sure I say this a lot, but what in the Maker's name are you talking about?" The Inquisitor shuffled her feet. She was getting tired, and the giant spiders on the Coast were getting tiresome. How many friggin' giant spiders were there in Thedas, and how many did she have to kill? Her mind wandered back to the enigmatic dwarf.

Scout Harding lacked self-confidence, though she was well liked by everyone. She had a hard time believing people actually waved at her, Leliana wasn't going to kill her, or that Josephine had sent her flowers. She had almost seemed convinced initially they were meant for someone else, or the card had been sent to her by accident.

Without thinking one day the Inquisitor had a Inquisition dagger custom made. The Inquisitor was a mage not a rogue, but a scout seemed roguish. She had been impressed by the detail masterwork done by Dagna. She had enchanted it and added a master corruption rune. Dagna thought it was a beautiful piece and such a rare schematic. Using dragon anything made Dagna happy. Dagna asked who it was for…she hadn't even thought about the fact that she had made it with Scout Harding in mind. Perhaps she should have used a dragon rune to go on it, but corruption rune was much more practical.

Scout Harding didn't seem like a fighter, and she was too valuable to waste in a skirmish, still the Inquisitor wondered how she sloughed through Thedas to the most dangerous areas without dying. The Inquisition had good people, but Scout Harding seemed a rarity.

"Hello." Sera said. "You can't even pay attention for two seconds while I answer your question." Cassandra walked up to the Inquisitor and was going to ask something, which required Sera to interrupt her, "She doesn't even notice, yeah?"

"Doesn't notice what, Sera?" Cassandra asked. Sera had cut her off when she took in a breath to speak; sadly, Cassandra was accustomed to it. Her question would come back to her.

"The Inquisitor here likes to flirt with Scout Harding." Sera said confidently.

"The Inquisitor like to flirt with everyone as far as I can tell: you, me, Iron Bull, Cullen, Josephine, really anyone." Cassandra sighed. "It's innocuous."

The Dalish Elf started to reply, but Sera cut her off, "Yeah, well maybe. We all notice she flirts with us though right? Nobody even gets a kiss, hell Hawke had to die for her to hug Varric."

"Sera." Cassandra started sharply.

"Well, it's true." Sera said pushing her determined little chin forward.

"What does this have to do with the price of tea in Orlais?" the Inquisitor asked.

"You tease everyone, but aren't interested in anyone. I'm betting, because I'm a betting woman, you're going to go with the one that doesn't even notice. The one who doesn't even know she wants you, they way you don't know you want her. So it's meant to be, yeah?" Sera stated putting her hands oh her hips.

"Yeah, yeah. That makes no sense whatsoever." The Inquisitor sighed. As usual, no idea what you're talking about. Why don't I just go grab Cole so none of us can understand anything that's going on while he rambles about what's in our head, and we can play guessing games? Wait we can do that while we go kill another round of giant spiders." The Inquisitor shuddered.

"Cole's creepy all right. But, you and Harding were standing right there when he starts spouting off his weird way in your head thoughts and shit." Sera was really getting excited at her conclusion if she ever got to it.

"The longer you go on the less sense you make." The Seeker stated.

"Doesn't matter if you get it, as long as she gets it. Besides she seems to understand that Cole stuff. He talks about whatever he pulls out of people's heads. He said, 'and then she gave her a dagger, the one she didn't even know she made for her, and seeing her with it made her heart melt.'"

"You know quoting Cole makes even less sense than Cole actually speaking. You know this, right?" the Inquisitor asked. Her short cropped white her was beginning to muss and tangle in the salt spray, but her mind had been wandering to Harding more often lately.

"If you don't even get that you like each other, you really like each other. That's all I'm saying." Sera sounded matter of fact.

"You're making less sense than you usually do, and I didn't think that was possible."

"Wait and see." Cassandra sighed and went to retrieve her sword. The Inquisitor stopped and thought for a moment. Very little of what Sera said made sense, which was about par for the course; however, why did she make that dagger for Harding. It's not like she ever gave a present to anyone else.

"Inquisitor, this just in." a random scout said to her. Need for more anti-venom. It was going to be that kind of day.

***

Here she was again, outside the tavern talking to Harding. Why was it every time she saw her she made a beeline for her? Sera's raving had brought it to her attention. She could see Sera peering out her window indicating something vulgar as Scout Harding thanked her for asking about her day.

It was true. Harding never walked off, and lately the Inquisitor just stayed until there was nothing mindless left to talk about and it just became awkward.

"Would you like to join me?" the Inquisitor asked.

"What? You want me to join you? For what?" Scout Harding looked really excited and confused in the same moment. The Inquisitor kind of felt the same. Harding's reaction gave her a small set of butterflies off in her stomach, and maybe a tingle of something else.

Sera's random pantomimes were definitely not helping her concentration.

"For what?" The elf hadn't had the presence of mind to come up with the 'for what' in advance. A picnic? A quest? A talk? A kiss? Wait what? Maybe a drink. "How about a drink?" She'd had drinks with Iron Bull, The Chargers, Blackwall, why not Harding? What harm could come out of a little drink. Little, maybe she shouldn't think in short terms. It's not like the slight build of the elf was much taller than the dwarf, but it was rare to have someone look up at her, especially with such beautiful eyes. She had wonderfully expressive eyes, and right now they were filled with curiosity, and excitement, and something else the Inquisitor couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I don't drink." Harding said without thinking.

"Oh," The Inquisitor started, but Harding plowed on the way Dagna sometimes did, maybe it was a dwarf thing.

"But I could watch you drink. I could watch you drink a lot…or a little…or I don't know what I mean." Harding seemed flustered. These awkward moments were the ones where the Inquisitor always started to walk away, but she found her feet firmly stuck to the ground. She didn't have words or movement. This wasn't good.

"Uhhhh. The dagger how did that work out for you…" the Inquisitor started.

"Wow. I can't believe I forgot to thank you. I've never gotten a gift like that before. I've never gotten a gift like anything before. It's so beautiful. I ran into Dagna she said you enchanted it yourself. Did you?"

The Inquisitor was caught of guard; she did manage a straggled voice of confirmation, "Yes". Sera pantomimes had moved on from crude too so ornate she no longer had any idea what she was doing. If she had some flags it might look like semaphore.

"I…no one ever gave me a present like that before."

"Wait until you're up for your five year pin." Harding laughed at the Inquisitor's joke, and everything seemed alright for the moment. Awkward removed for the moment.

"Maybe I will have one drink." Harding said. "Just one. I've always been kind of afraid of the bartender, he seems to gruff."

"He's good for gossip and sarcasm." The Inquisitor held the door open for Harding and suddenly they were in motion. Harding slipped up to the bar and onto a barstool and the Inquisitor after a moment's hesitation decided to sit next to her. She usually stood, but her knees were feeling a bit weak. Maybe she was better at killing dreadful spiders than dealing with awkward confusing emotions.

"What's your special?" Harding asked the bartender.

"Ale. The secret is ale." The Bartender didn't move and stared back at her. The silence lapsed long enough even he decided to give the two women a break, they looked like they could use one…and a drink. "That is what we call a joke." Silence. "Two ales, then?"

"Yes, please." The Inquisitor felt relieved that something was said and something was happening. "How is the mood?"

"Thick with three of the four humours: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and…"

"Three is enough." The Inquisitor stopped him short (dammit she needed to quit doing that…now she was just getting hypersensitive…maybe she shouldn't date dwarves.)

Wait.

What was this a date? No. It was just a drink. Just a simple drink with a woman she really liked to talk to and think about a lot for no apparent reason. Those damn expressive eyes, were expressing something.

The ales arrived and both women were relieved to drink.

Sera came swaggering downstairs. This was trouble. Even Iron Bull was steering clear…steering, like a steer…damn she was getting sensitive.

The bartender didn't even ask. As Sera slid up to the bar, the bartender just slid a small drink cup full of liquor, neat, down to the end.

As soon as the drink arrived in her hand, Sera spoke up, "So are you going to kiss her or what?"

"I beg your pardon?" The Inquisitor stated, and at that moment the never ending annoying Bard started with the Sera song. "Sera was…"

Sera groaned. "Friggin' creepy is what that is. You could make her stop, you know. I think she's trying to chat me up."

"You have words. Occasionally they make sense. You could use them to talk to the Bard." The Inquisitor started.

"You are no help." Sera annoyed her fun time was curtailed by that song slung down the drink and stalked upstairs.

"So what's this kissing business?" Harding was trying to appear as nonchalant as she could. It wasn't working well, but it was a worthwhile attempt.

The Inquisitor sighed. "Sera has a theory that even though I flirt with anyone, somehow the one person I have feelings for is you." The Inquisitor just blurted it out…and let it lay there. Now for a couple of moments.

"I see." Harding started. "And what do you think of this theory?"

What did she think of this theory? "I guess…I thought…it deserved a drink." She ended the statement on an awkward up inflection. There were those eyes again looking up at the Inquisitor.

"Everyone talks about how you have time to bed your allies." The bartender stated out of nowhere.

"I don't bed anyone." The Inquisitor started defensively.

"True." The Bartender started, "But maybe it's about time you did. That's all I'm saying." He retreated to the other end of the bar.

"Flirting, I can do." The Inquisitor said looking at Harding. She was so cute and wee, but in a fun way. "Anything else, well I really don't have any experience with…well…I'm not very good at…" the Inquisitor had slid off the stood giving Harding a slight chance of evening the height difference from her perch on the stool.

Those eyes.

Harding seemed to be the only one willing to take a risk at this point. She didn't mind risking life and limb for the Inquisition, but this was different. When she caught the Inquisitor's eye between moments of shifting her feet about she reached up and kissed her. It was a simple kiss. Their lips touched for barely a moment, but it was enough to break the ice maybe, start something; end something…it felt really nice to finally do it. Harding had thought about what it would be like pretty often since the Inquisitor had given her that dagger and a little hope. Her heart skipped a beat while she searched the Inquisitor's very confused eyes. Perhaps it had been a mistake after all.

Harding knew this was stupid. No one was ever going to like her, why would she think she would have a shot with someone like the Inquisitor.

Harding slipped off the barstool with every intention of going through the tavern door and never turning back. She felt ashamed and embarrassed. The Inquisitor just looked confused, and Harding wasn't looking at her, but the Inquisitor was using her body to block the way.

The scout didn't trust her voice to speak, and it was sort of clenching up and burning her eyes. She just felt embarrassed.

She felt the Inquisitor's soft hand touch her chin and force her head to look up at her. Harding hid her eyes though. Finally the Inquisitor just simply ducked down into view. Harding started to apologize, but the Inquisitor caught her lips with her own.

It took Harding a moment to realize she was kissing her back. She was actually kissing her back.

The Inquisitor draped her arm around the dwarf and pulled her to her to deepen the kiss. Somewhere dimly Harding could hear the tavern break out in a cheer. Normally, if anything like this would have ever happened to her she would be mortified, but she was too entranced with the kiss.

Harding wanted to live and just stay in that moment forever. Just her and the Inquisitor. Harding had barely kissed anyone, but none of it felt like this. The kiss definitely was making her feel funny with a slight tingling sensation she'd never actually felt with someone else and light headedness that didn't seem to want to pass.

The Inquisitor reluctantly broke off the kiss mostly because the tavern seemed like it wanted to tear itself apart cheering. She would normally be embarrassed at the attention, as well, but Harding was just looking at her dimly aware of the racket around them. Harding was smiling with her eyes, and as sweet as the kiss had been, the Inquisitor was glad it wasn't followed by a slap, though it seemed to be followed by a great deal of clapping from random people in the tavern.

Sera was laughing from her second floor perch and seemed to have donned a new cup that she raised in the Inquisitor's general direction. "I told you, yeah."

The cacophony was a bit too much, and she felt herself being led out of the tavern. Outside the door it had grown darker, and the door shutting behind them ended the never ending loudness back to a dull roar.

"What was that we were just doing?" Harding smiled up at her and looked confidently at her for the first time. She never realized Harding had a constant apologetic look, as if she was worried she was wasting everyone's time.

The apologetic look had been replaced by one of confidence. Harding wrapped her arms around the Inquisitor's neck and pulled her to her. The Inquisitor gave in easily. Kissing Harding felt freeing, it was also quite fun, but she really wanted to try it without an audience.

The elf met her halfway this time. The kiss seemed more mutual. More powerful. And much less awkward, though the others had been fun. She slipped her hand behind the small of Harding back and just kissed her in the moment. For once it was fun to just be.

She didn't have to ask to know if Harding felt the same. This time she knew. 


End file.
